pm doesnt increase post count :lol:

Ha ha ha !

One more. Lol.

here is my 2 cents on the matter. if a store is losing money or making money due to a boxing day sale, or any sale, is really none of our buisness. thats the accountants problem not ours. to me a deal is a deal. if im able to save some money on one thing to buy more stuff im all for it. and in the end im thankfull to the company i purchase said sale item from for givingme the oportunity to save some cash. whether its a once a year thing or off and on in the year. in the end those few bucks i saved may help towards a cool controller or new skimmer. and i guarontee. the place that treated me with the most respect. will get me back there again. sale or no sale.

its a hobby/obsession/addiction...i have reefer ocd and its a problem im going to have to live with for the rest of my life. hell i didnt buy any rum for over chistmas/new years causse i could usethe money towards somethingfish related lol.

so i say who cares what the lfs/retailers financials are or methods for taking our money...enjoy it spend it..you cant take it ith you and your kids really dont need an inheritance anyways. lol

ps: i wanted another notch in my post count too

You guys have figured out the secret.....

Its a license to print money.....right Ken.

MarkoD.... your awesome we should be partners....feed and keep the water nice and clean and you can keep everything alive, including achilles tangs...your the king.

Boxing Day is a sales day....we discount to get volume both online and in the store...Do we lose money...on sales over COGS, no but come on, think of your power bill...and think of how much water we have...

With live inventory this is an extremely difficult industry....and an even more difficult business model when everything i have has a unique sku.

All retailers value customers please come to our store soon.

Merry christmas and Happy New Year to All....



Wendell

Can't make some people happy. Take advantage of what deals you want to and start your own lfs if you can do better.

Don't all retailers use separate skus on products?

That seems like an everyday practice for any retailer.


Good post though asides from my above thought.

I can see your side. Tanks galore.

No sir, you're* awesome and you're* the king

The comparison was electronics store and a fish store. My point was that electronics can't sit on the shelf either.

But this has gone so off track, I can't even remember the original reason for this argument.

+1

Alright, here's my two cents...

I used to be a distributor for snowboards and wakeboards. If you own either of these products, it probably passed through my hands. I also had my own shop which I sold out of, so I know how pricing works at both ends.

I can't speak for LFS mark ups as they have very high losses (imagine if that goldflake angel you just ordered in kicked the bucket...) and they different business models but, in my industry, every time a product changes hands it doubles in price. If I bought a board from the factory for $100, I'd sell it to a shop for $200 and they'd sell it for $400. This is rough numbers but gives you an idea. Some products, especially the small one people buy a lot of (like skateboard wheels and bearings) have much higher mark ups.

For boxing day I'd get pretty good deals from the factories, which I'd pass on to the dealers. The factories want to clear out stock for the next model year and, since no one is buying wakeboards in the dead of winter, I was also generous on my pricing. So the shops do see savings for this reason.

There is also the whole thing of selling in bulk. Though I was selling m product for less, there are so many people buying on boxing day that I would make up for it through volume. Boxing day for my shop was often more profitable than the entire preceding holiday season and I'd make enough money to make-up for the sales doldrums that follow Christmas.

So, it really depends. Most shops aren't going to be losing money but they don't necessarily make as much on each product they sell, but they make up for it through volume.

+1 That is what I am trying to say.

Pricing
 

As consumers, you guys really don't know how spoiled you are. Especially in Calgary and Vancouver.

This is feeling like beating a dead horse though...

oh yeah. my original point:

having a doorcrasher item which is below cost will bring customers in the door and give you the potential to up sell them or sell them additional things and build a rapport with them. Opening the door for future business.

this is not an argument and you dont have to respond. this is my opinion and if I had a retail store I would run it this way.

Why is'nt this thread in the lounge?

?
 

Markod

Where did you get your numbers for 30 % and 50% then and how does this back up the original point you stated on page 5?

page 5 was the previous page.


and what i said on page one was

"I think it's more like 30% on dry goods and 50% on livestock"

but i later corrected myself

If anyone thinks stores lose money on boxing day sales I have a couple extra bridges I will sell them! lol

[quote=unclesalty;665424]If anyone thinks stores lose money on boxing day sales I have a couple extra bridges I will sell them! lol[/quot

I'm happy to see you own bridges, in BC at $3 to $5 a car you could make some serious money.

Unless you own a store in my industry your opinion is just that, your opinion.


Wendell

So you know, I'm available anytime to consult on the big money to be made in the Salt Water Aquarium Industry...until then im just hoping to find people who own bridges to keep buying.

Really....i wish that was true, not many retailers sell live inventory....and when they do not many sell it with pics online.

People want to buy what they see with online products, so i have a zoo frag 1 and zoo frag 2...and we cant just order them that way....

In most other industries....you order a watch, a coffee machines, a ipad, a ipod they have individual sku's but you can produce them by the 100's of thousands....so how many zoo's look exactly the same...name many...and you expect to buy what you see....

Hence individual sku for each of the 1500 items i had in two of the 10 coral tanks we have in our store....thats a difficult proposition....

IMHO


Wendell

[quote=OceanAquatics;665439]Sorry I can't keep buying as I bought too many bridges I can't sell! lol
I am not saying you are making big money but I know you are not selling items for less than your cost on boxing day!

[quote=unclesalty;665442]
You know....cool im in, tell me.

Eagerly awaiting your reply.


Wendell

[quote=unclesalty;665442]Why should any store sell anything below their cost? At any time of the year! If people are gonna bittch about the cost of this hobby than maybe it's time to start thinking about a new one. This whole thread is pointless arguing and really what the hell is the cost of this hobby have to do with big screens? I see no connection.

[quote=Madreefer;665449]this is what i said before as to why i'd sell something below cost. and the tv thing came in because i use to sell things below cost when i sold tvs

"having a doorcrasher item which is below cost will bring customers in the door and give you the potential to up sell them or sell them additional things and build a rapport with them. Opening the door for future business.

this is not an argument and you dont have to respond. this is my opinion and if I had a retail store I would run it this way."

[quote=MarkoD;665451]If they are selling them for below their costs that I have seen they definately need a new wholesaler!

Lol
 

Ok Marko you win wrong page...

Not the point. But you haven't answered the question.

Where did you come up with these numbers. Magic hat? I realize they are a matter of opinion , but when you come online and state things like that, some people might not realize you don't have a clue at what you are saying as assume it is fact. Just my opinion.

Also, electronics store and a small specialized hobby shop are a whole different animal my friend. I appreciate you trying to make comparisons with what you may have learned as a part time electronics salesman while putting yourself through school, but you're talking a bit over your head. ( in my opinion)

Also, sorry for the late reply. I was watching my stories on my new tv I picked up on boxing day. No xtended warranty FTW!

All I have to say on this is, thank you to all the customers that came out for boxing day as well as for the rest of the year, regardless how much is made or lost on sales, during boxing week, or any other sale for the rest of the year, our main objective is to please the customer. As long as we continue doing that, by providing great pricing and services, and assuming we keep the doors open then it shouldn't be anyone's business how much is made or lost.....

Steve

An LFS is a business, not a charity. It is not in business to supplement our addictions by selling below cost. Operating costs are very high in this industry, especially for sw with all the high-powered lights, pumps, etc.

I'm just glad I live in the Lower Mainland where I can order online or go to the shops to pick up my stuff without going broke. If I lived in other parts of the country, I probably would have never gotten back into sw. I know of one shop in Powell River that was charging over $40 for a 50g bag of IO salt (more than a bucket around here).

Anybody who thinks LFS owners are getting rich from their shops should try calculating how much shipping is, keeping corals/fish alive, livestock losses, salt for water changes, staffing, and electricity.

I'm just happy that I got my Boxing Week shopping done and that I can still feed my addiction tomorrow and throughout the weekend even.

Cheers,

Anthony

if i put the words "i think" infront of the number 23423948734597934759347859573fivesevenoneoneoneone oenoneonezerozerozero.

it basically means i got out of a magic hat. or just made it up as what i think a figure could be

now after installing this stupid star wars old republic game for the last 2 hours.... im gonna try and play it

Hats
 

Gotta start selling hats, magic hats.

2 for 1 boxing day

then once you get people hooked and the word of your business spreads, then you raise the price and start making profits

Any Cottage Industry as a whole has unique issues, but the most specific issue is that most suppliers will sell to anyone...hence the cost of items is well know and most people with an internet connection can figure that out.

This LFS industry is therefore based on three things...1. Things die 2. How do you keep the customer coming into your store after those things die. 3. When they come back...things die...back to thing 2.

Simple...but hey...i'm thinking i want to own bridges...

All the best.


Wendell

This is what I paid for a bucket of salt about 10 years ago. The wore out pricetag is for $160.28. That same store now sells the same salt for $59.99. I'm quite happy paying todays prices. I dont shop at that store anymore, I get my salt for $50/pail now. Just be fortunate you have stores to choose from in your town. It's pretty much a known fact that most LFS stores sell salt at cost or below cost to get the consumer in there. Try not too tick off some of your LFS that are possibly reading this thread right now, it may backfire on you when you do ask for a better deal at other times of the year. Most of them are willing to knock off a few bucks if asked. Wendall has for me and i'm 500 miles away.
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...EDs/bucket.jpg

thank you for the words...but i get that life is about price...i drive to costco in bellingham to buy chicken....but like i dont understand the guy who has a chicken business i dont expect you to understand mine....

it works...and my doors are open....

Wanna buy a fish store, call me....


Wendell

I work in commercial real estate and even though we have just gone thru a recession, rents in this city especially retail remained strong, with low vacancy rates. Therefore most retail tenants have likely seen their rents increase over the last couple of years in this city. As many of you remember, labour costs soared a few years ago and while most contracts and service providers have been able to stabilize their costs, no one dropped their prices, they simply kept them where they left off. I have never seen a landlord drop their operating costs, always increases. I can drive around this city and have a pretty good idea of what rents are, hence the locations of the smaller lfs. When a business is paying thousands a month in rents alone, utilities, staffing, plus the cost of stocking their stores, I am amazed at who stays in business. I've seen many mom and pop stores just not able to make it, even franchises and national tenants close down, so I always have admired those who start or maintain a business successfully, honestly and with integrity.

I don't boxing day shop, hate the crowds and really don't see the big deal. I went to a couple of stores this year, late in the afternoon, missed the rush and got what I needed. I know which stores I will continue to shop at, not for pricing but for the service. I've received a few freebies "just to try" in my tank rather than spend money on something that won't survive in my tank. Ive considered buying stuff that i was talked out of bec it was a waste of money, and i was thankful. That is what will bring me back. Walking into a store I've been in 3 times and being called by name (happened today). Everyone is out to make a buck, so what? Boxing day is a rip off, sure there are deals to be had...take what you want and leave the rest!

Just my 0.02

Oh I see. Most places I hit use a generic code such as "zoa Frag".

I have yet to be fortunate enough to deal with a shop that thorough... Then again, if it increases operating costs, I would understand why.

Thanks for the explanation.

I like you Wendell, you don't need to sell your store. If you change your old staff with a new friendly and knowledgeable staff it will help. Sometimes I don't shop in that store just because I don't like their staff, but the owner :wink:

I personally have no problem with the staff there.

this whole thread is getting blown out of porportion. does any of it really matter this is the holiday season ppl eat drink be merry lets not end the year in a silly thread about things that is life its called business. if things were free we wouldnt have to work. if we didnt have to work we would be at home annoying our wives and divorce rate would be higher.

I agree :smile: sorry ... and IF we didn't have to work too ... I would have got divorced in a month.

soo.. i guess no ones having any new years eve sales now?



lol :-)